Painful Reminder
by Isabel Night
Summary: Why does Cale hate the Partnership? You'll just have to read in order to find out. Rated PG because it talks about making examples out of dead bodies, stabbing, and a massacre.


Painful Reminder  
Isabel Night  
  
The Partnership is probably the most abhorrent gift the Kami could ever give to the mortals. These "gifts" to Dais, Sekhmet, Anubis, Wildfire, and Torrent make me sick. Have they forgotten that these five are not from Nippon? Have they forgotten the pain of becoming attached to someone? Have they forgotten the Kyoto Massacre of 1870?  
  
The Kyoto Massacre of 1870 was the day my soul died. It was the day the only woman I cared about died in an attempt to protect the five relics of the Partnership: the five Kanji necklaces.  
  
In the mortal year 1850, the people to the west and north, now called Russia, sent an ambassador to my country. His name was Ivan Karslov, and his king, called a Czar I think, sent him to talk about opening up trade routes between the two countries. Apparently, the Shogun liked the offer and several trade agreements were reached. Ivan was then sent to Nippon to become the representative of his people in my country. In the mortal year 1851, Ivan met a young woman named Minako. They fell in love, got married, and in the next year, their only child was born. They named their girl-child Sonya, which means "Wisdom" in the Russian language  
  
Ivan belonged to a religion called Russian Orthodox Christianity, but he let his wife raise their daughter as a practitioner of Shinto. When Sonya was 16 years old, she became a local priestess to the great Sun Goddess. I first met her when I was traveling to my home region of Northern Honshu. I had been careless while traveling, and had been attacked when Sonya found me on the road. She took me in and treated my wounds as if she were a healer. I stayed with Sonya for a few days before I left to go back to the region of my birth, but all I could think about was her beautiful Black hair, her Sea Green eyes, and her warm smile. This image haunted me everywhere I traveled, and after I left the region of my birth and went back to Master Talpa, I began to hide in the shadows and watch the object of my affection. I had never known such a fierce, deep love, but I knew I wanted Sonya to be my wife.  
  
Then an insurrection rose up. A group of people, who believed that all foreigners should be expelled, tried to attack the city of Kyoto and destroy all "foreign" influence. One night, these upstarts planned to sneak into the city and steel the five Kanji necklaces at the temple where Sonya was a priestess. Those bastards believed that if they could take the five necklaces, then the Kami would favor their cause. However, the temple had been alerted to the danger.  
All the other priestess had fled, but Sonya stayed to protect the relics. When those self-righteous bastards trapped her and forced her to surrender the necklaces, she refused. My Sonya was repeatedly stabbed, but I didn't show up in enough time to save her. The light from the Kanji necklaces had scared the thieves away, but they didn't save my Sonya.  
  
For the first time ever since I joined Talpa, I cried. I lost my Sonya because of those five necklaces. I lost the only woman I cared about because of the Partnership. I swore that day, that I would avenge my Sonya and destroy the reason she had died. It was fairly easy to hunt down the bastards and make an example of their bodies, but all that was left in my heart was hate. In that hate, I slew Sonya's father, mother, and about 30% of the people that lived in Kyoto before the Imperial Guards found me and I was forced to teleport away. That day has been preserved in history as the Massacre of 1870. My Sonya was 18 years old.  
  
A decade later, I came back to the temple. Sonya was buried on the temple grounds with a beautiful headstone. I had brought some materials to clean the headstone, and had brought offerings as well. I went to the temple to try to destroy the Kanji necklaces, but they were gone. In my anger, I screamed to the heavens asking why I was being denied justice. I would destroy the Partnership; I would destroy the cause of my Sonya's death.  
  
Now the Partnership is complete. The five children have been born. It's really a shame that all of them will die on my blade, but I really don't care. All five of them will die, and the day I kill them, I will avenge my Sonya.  
  
All that is left in my heart is a black, poisonous hate. I know Sonya would not want me to hate, but it is all that I have left. My hatred will burn for the Partnership. Sonya….Sonya…Sonya.  
  
NOTES:  
1. Nippon is the name the Japanese people call their country.  
2. Sonya is the pet form for the Russian name that means "Wisdom." 


End file.
